Pinegrove! Pinegrove! Pinegrove!

New Jersey rock band, Pinegrove, will be taking the stage at the Lincoln Theater in DC Thursday, February 24th at 8pm to promote the recent release of their album 11:11. They will be performing alongside Poise and Lily Konigsburg.

Being a band for nearly 12 years - Pinegrove has had different iterations of the band through the ages but songwriter Evan Stephens Hall and drummer Zack Levine have always stuck it out, being the core band members with their long term friendship spanning all the way back to their childhood in New Jersey creating the strong backbone that a lot of newer bands lack. In their early days, Pinegrove spent their time performing around New Jersey and surrounding areas at DIY venues, building their fanbase and rolodex of songs as they went along. In January 2010 they released their first project, an EP titled “Mixtape One” on Bandcamp. Bandcamp created a platform for the band to share their music and start to create a fanbase outside of the basement shows they were used to. In 2012, the band released their first album, “Meridian” catching attention from different music magazines. This album was a catalyst to the band's future success.

These DIY roots make perfect sense when listening to Pinegrove - their music is so intimate and tells stories of heartbreak and friendship. I think Pinegrove may be easier to relate to and therefore claim to fame in a different way than many artists out there - as a listener I find myself grappling with some of the same issues frontman Hall sings about.

Pinegrove’s music sounds influenced by the raw, in-your-face sound of the DIY music scene while also having a soft edge and musical details reminiscent of older folk music. Their lyrics and rock melodies create a new age nostalgic escape. Each one of Pinegroves songs always feels like it encapsulates a very real story, for which any listener could inject themselves into. 11:11 is the band's fifth studio album, recorded mostly in a home-setting - furthering that intimate DIY sound we love from Pinegrove.

With any band, it’s always fun to see how they translate their recorded music into a live performance. I think the live performance aspect will amplify their naturally harder edge and the angst that might be harder to capture in a recording, and it definitely won’t be one to miss. Make sure to grab your tickets here before they’re gone.